Here is Richard Branson Dressed as a Mermaid

Sometimes, life gives you lemons. And then sometimes, it gives you Sir Richard Branson dressed as a mermaid, gazing happily at the camera as if to say, “My lifelong dream was not, in fact, to become an obscenely wealthy entrepreneur, but rather to bask in shallow waters with my fellow merpeople.”

Branson himself tweeted out the photo earlier today, writing, “Why am I dressed as a mermaid, you ask?” Why, indeed!

As he explains in a blog post, he did it to raise awareness for World Oceans Day, a “global celebration” of oceans held on 8th June.

“Why do I care about the ocean?” Branson, who is worth an estimated $5.4 billion, wrote. “My home, Necker Island, is surrounded by the most beautiful blue seas full of weird and wonderful wildlife.” Same!

Attempting to draw attention to the variouscrisesfacing the world’s oceans is a noble cause. That does not preclude this mermaid photo from being fucking bizarre, though.

But wait! There’s more! Turns out Sir Richard has quite the history of dressing up, and he’s mighty proud of it.

Here he is dressed up as an AirAsia flight attendant:

Image: AP

And what the Associated Press describes as an “Indian groom wearing a traditional turban”: